Institute for Environmental Security

IES Publications

Participatory Workshop on Environment and Security Issues in the Southern Mediterranean Region

The IES assisted with the facilitation of a Participatory Workshop on Environment and Security Issues in the Southern Mediterranean Region held in Amman, Jordan, 18-22 June 2012. The event was organised by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE...

Recent Trends in EU External Action in the Fields of Climate, Environment, Development and Security: Report for the European Space Agency

This report was prepared at the request of the European Space Agency in order to provide the ESA with information on the evolution of EU external action in the fields of climate, environment, development and security. The main purpose is to advise...

Better Access to Remedy in Company-?Community Conflicts in the field of CSR: A Model for Company ? Based Grievance Mechanisms

In 2010, the Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, established access to remedy as one of the three pillars of the UN 'Protect, Respect, Remedy'...

Mekong River Basin - Case Study (Poster)

The Greater Mekong River Basin is one of the world?s most biologically diverse river basins, ranking second behind the Amazon. It possesses endangered, rare and endemic species of flora and fauna. The Mekong River innervates the region providing...

The Greater Mekong River Basin, which extends into the six countries of China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam is one of the world?s most biodiverse river basins, ranking second behind the...

Horn of Africa: Environmental Security Assessment

In the Horn of Africa, increasing scarcity and degradation of natural resources seriously threatens human well-being. The population in the region (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda) has increased fourfold in the past 50...

Horn of Africa (Poster)

Peace and Sustainable Development through Environmental Security: A Methodology for Environmental Security Assessments

The IES mission is to make global environmental security a core principle of international policies by promoting the maintenance of the regenerative capacity of life supporting ecosystems, in order to secure the conditions for peace and sustainable...

Congo Basin ? DRC Case Study (Poster)

The Congo Basin forest is the second largest contiguous moist tropical forest in the world. It plays a key role in securing the livelihoods of millions of Central African citizens. The forest supplies vital regional and worldwide ecological and...

Good deal bad deal. Report of the Conference "Illegal Trade in Natural Resources - What can Brussels do?"

Natural resources are the backbone of the global economy. Many emerging economies are based on exporting natural resources to industrialised countries fuelling global markets in much needed raw materials. In accountable States, the income generated...

An outline of trade flows of legally and illegally extracted natural resources from fragile states: The case of coltan in the Kivus, DRC

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a good example of the ?paradox of plenty? theory according to which countries and regions with an abundance of natural resources, especially non-renewable resources such as minerals and fuels, tend to have...

What business practices are used to get a conflict-zone natural resource into the international market at the best possible price? The case of the DRC

This paper lays out key business routes that natural resources can take from conflict zones to ?legitimate? markets in the destination countries. The approach taken here is that the methods used to transfer natural resources from conflict-zones are...

The U.S. Lacey Act: An import ban on illegal timber. A model for other countries? A model for banning other illegally extracted natural resources?

The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C.??? 3371-3378) prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold. The Lacey Act is administered by the Departments of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture through...

Provincial actions to control and reduce illegal trade of natural resources in the Province of Equateur, DRC

During the recent IES mission in the province of Equateur, on November 2008, one of the findings was the willingness of the provincial authorities (Provincial Ministries of Environment, Mines and Energy) to take appropriate steps to control, reduce...

Climate Change and the Military: First Statement of the Military Advisory Council

A group of serving and retired military officers from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the US released a statement on 29 October 2009 calling on all governments to "work for an ambitious and equitable international agreement" at the global...

Climate Change & Security at Copenhagen - II: The Contribution of the Global Security Community to Success.

On 7 and 8 October 2009, the Institute for Environmental Security and its partners met at the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss the state of affairs in the lead up to the December UNFCCC COP15 meeting in Copenhagen, focusing particularly on...

Climate Change & the Military: The State of the Debate

The debate on Climate Change & Security has grown at a rapid pace over the past three years. In contrast to previous academic discussions on environment and security this process has increasingly been led by voices from the military themselves. ...

The Hague Environmental Law Facility

This study presents the findings of the research project 'The Hague Espace for Environmental Global Governance'. The project was carried out by the Institute for Environmental Security and the T.M.C. Asser Institute with the support of The...

Feasibility Study for The Hague Environmental Law Facility

In June 2009, the IES presented the findings of the research project The Hague Espace for Environmental Global Governance. The project was carried out by IES and the T.M.C. Asser Institute with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs,...

Environment and Security: Challenges for Change

Criminal Jurisdiction in the Netherlands over Trade in Natural Resources Originating from Conflict Zones

Natural resources such as diamonds, timber, coltan, and other minerals are often extracted from developing countries by rebel groups; and the resources are subsequently exported to developed countries as private goods. There is evidence that the...

Stemming Illegal Logging and Timber Trade

Over the last four decades, there has been a global recognition of the damage to world forests caused by illegal logging and the related trade in illegally produced timber products. The European Community, as a major timber-consuming market,...

Lebanon Oil Spill Legal Assessment

After the Israeli attacks on the Jiyyeh power plant in Lebanon on 13 and 15 July 2006 during the hostilities between Lebanon and Israel from 12 July till 8 September 2006 an estimated amount of 15,000 tons of heavy IFO 150 (number 6 fuel) spilled...

Charcoal in the Mist: an overview of environmental security issues and initiatives in the Central Albertine Rift

This report, "Charcoal in the Mist", describes the environmental security situation and the role of resources in one of the world's most important ecosystems, the Central Albertine Rift. This transboundary eco-region is important not only in terms...

Mining, forest change and conflict in the Kivus

This report presents the outcome of a study carried out within the Environmental Security for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme of the Institute for Environmental Security. It was largely prepared by SarVision, to promote and advance the...

Climate Change, Security and Sustainable Development

This is the report of the IES conference on the impact of climate change on international security and sustainable development, "From Bali to Poznan: New Issues, New Challenges", held at the European Parliament on 18 Dec...

Accelerated Learning Pathways for Sustainable Development within International Context

This report was prepared by Planet2025 Network at the request of the Dutch Programme Learning for Sustainable Development. It reviews and discusses key drivers and trends that could strongly influence the activities of the UN Decade of Education for...

Conference on Greening Foreign and Security Policy: The Role of Europe - Final Conference Report

GLOBE-EU and IES co-organised a Conference on Greening Foreign and Security Policy: The Role of Europe at the European Parliament in Brussels on 6-7 December 2006. The aim of the meeting was to help promote a political process for the better...

Joint Report of the Greening Foreign and Security Policy Working Groups

The Joint Report of the Working Groups on Greening Foreign and Security Policy was finalised in March 2007 taking into account the results of the December 2006 GFSP Conference in Brussels and other inputs from the participants in the groups during...

Inventory of Environment and Security Policies and Practices (IESPP): An Overview of Strategies and Initiatives of Selected Governments, International Organisations and Inter-Governmental Organisations

This report provides an easy to use comparative overview of existing governmental and inter-governmental positions and actions dealing with the relationship between environment, security and sustainable...

Forces for Sustainability

This is the report of the first Peace and Sustainability Session named "Forces for Sustainability", held in the Peace Palace in The Hague in March 2007. The meeting brought together about 70 decision makers, opinion leaders, professionals in...

This extensive report (written in Spanish, with an English abstract) focuses on the legal aspects of the EnviroSecurity Assessment case study in Matav?n, Colombia, where the advance of illicit plantations towards the Matav?n area, constitutes a...

Promoting Environmental Security and Poverty Alleviation in the Matav?n area of Colombia

International Law of Sustainable Development: Legal Aspects of Environmental Security on the Indonesian Island of Kalimantan

This report focuses on the legal aspects of the EnviroSecurity Assessment case study of Kalimantan. In this area large and numerous forest fires cause a lot of damage to human health, the economy and the environment in various ways. Moreover, the...

This case study report focuses on environmental security in two peat swamp forest areas in Central Kalimantan, namely Mawas and Sebangau. It describes the social and environmental problems in this Indonesian part of Borneo, where environmental goods...

Peace Park amid Violence? A report on environmental security in the Virunga-Bwindi region

This study, carried out for the Institute for Environmental Security (IES), specifically focuses on the Virunga-Bwindi region, an area of high conservation value located in the border region of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo...

Proceedings of The Hague Conference on Environment, Security and Sustainable Development, Peace Palace, 9-12 May 2004

In the 1990s experts predicted that environmental change was to be the security concern of the 21st Century. Today, however, competing crises brought on by terrorism, infectious diseases and economic instability are at the top of the security...

Humankind?s failure to reinvest a portion of the monetary riches provided by nature back into the globe?s life-supporting ecosystems has produced a mounting deficit on the world?s ecological balance of payments. This deficit has now grown to be 20...

Eco-Insurance for a Sustainable Future: A Contribution to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

This Consultation Paper and its Report on Initial Consultations with experts introduces Eco-Insurance for a Sustainable Future to a broader audience of stakeholders from around the world for comments and suggestions. It is the first step of what...

What is Environmental Security?

The relation between the environment and the security of humans and nature has been the object of much research and the subject of many publications in recent decades, but it is only recently becoming an important focus of international...